EAM Jaishankar to attend SCO's Council of Foreign Ministers meet in Moscow

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be attending the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held in Moscow on September 9 and 10, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. This will be the third CFM meeting that India will be attending as a full member of SCO. Earlier, the two meetings were held in Beijing and Bishkek in 2018 and 2019 respectively, the ministry said.

"India has been taking an active part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms under the Chairmanship of the Russian Federation in this year. The SCO summit will be held in the near future. The CFM meeting in Moscow will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO summit and also exchange views on international and regional issues," the statement said. External Affairs Minister's visit in Moscow will include the participation in the Council of SCO Foreign Ministers and other bilateral meetings, it added.

The Foreign Minister's meeting comes at a time when the tensions along the LAC have flared up with China and Jaishankar is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Jaishankar's trip to Moscow comes days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Russian capital to attend a meeting of SCO Defence Ministers.

Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart 

On Friday, Singh held an over two-hour meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe on the escalating border row between the two countries in eastern Ladakh. In the talks, Singh categorically told Wei that India will not "cede an inch of land" and is determined to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the country at "all cost.

An official statement said that Singh conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that China must strictly respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and not make attempts to unilaterally change its status quo. Both Jaishankar and Wang are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on Thursday, PTI quoted people familiar with the developments as saying.

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India-China LAC standoff 

The two Foreign Ministers held a telephonic conversation on June 17 during which both sides agreed that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner. The talks took place two days after the Galwan Valley clashes in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The clashes escalated the tensions manifold.

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The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35. Tensions flared up again in eastern Ladakh after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong lake a week back when the two sides were engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the prolonged border row.

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India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has strongly objected to India's move. However, India has maintained that the heights are on its side of the LAC.

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(With agency inputs)